Bluebonnet and LCRA representatives present a $27,690 grant to the Delhi Volunteer Fire Department for a new helipad. The grant is part of LCRA’s Community Grants program. Pictured, seated, from left, are Greg Guillot, David Reininger, Betty Platt and Joyce Rodgers, VFD supporters; Joyce Smith, EMT-B; and Rachael Guillot, VFD supporter. Standing: Joe Johnson and Cheryl Reininger, VFD supporters; Ray Rodgers, firefighter; Victor Bastien, VFD supporter; Eric Bastien, assistant chief; Cindy Woolley, treasurer and firefighter; Danney Rodgers, chief and EMT; Matthew L. ‘Matt’ Arthur, Margaret D. ‘Meg’ Voelter and Melissa K. Blanding, LCRA board members; Milton Shaw, Bluebonnet Board member; Mark Mayo, LCRA board member; Jo Anna Gilland, Bluebonnet’s Lockhart-area community representative; Josh Thomas, Bluebonnet’s Bastrop-area community representative; Elizabeth Ehlers, LCRA regional affairs representative; and Roderick Emanuel, Bluebonnet Board Vice President/Vice Chairman.

The Delhi Volunteer Fire Department will soon build a concrete helicopter landing pad next to the fire station near Rosanky, thanks to a $27,690 grant from Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative and the Lower Colorado River Authority.

The community grant, along with $7,386 in matching funds from the VFD, will pay for a 40-by-40-foot helipad to provide transport helicopters with a safe, permanent landing location with aviation lighting.

“We average about one air transport every eight weeks, and a lot of those transports are happening at night,” said Danney Rodgers, fire chief. “Our department services a pretty remote and rural side of Caldwell County, and we’re often responding to situations that require emergency transport via helicopter. With a growing population in the Delhi VFD service area and no additional trauma centers being constructed in proximity, the landing pad is a needed addition to enhance the safety of our community.”

The new landing pad will enable the department to make arrangements for air transport providers in advance, and emergency responders will have a flat, level walkway from the parking area to the landing pad, providing a safer transfer to the helicopter.

Rodgers said current conditions are less than ideal for emergency evacuations.

“Recently we had a landing that ended up being aborted due to poor ground conditions and another that was severely delayed due to lack of suitable clearance,” he said. “The permanent concrete landing will greatly improve response times for patients, regardless of weather or time of day.”

The Delhi VFD serves eastern Caldwell County.

This is one of five grants recently awarded by Bluebonnet and LCRA through LCRA’s Community Grants program, which helps volunteer fire departments, local governments, emergency responders and nonprofit organizations fund eligible capital improvement projects in LCRA’s wholesale electric, water and transmission service areas. Bluebonnet is one of LCRA’s wholesale electric customers and is a partner in the grant program. 

Applications for the next round of grants will be accepted in January. More information is available at lcra.org/grants.